There are conventional drug delivery devices with which ampoules, vials, plastic bottles, kits, bags, or the like containing a drug or the like are pre-loaded into a cassette and then delivered as needed.
FIG. 13 is an overall view of the configuration of a conventional drug delivery device 100 (see Patent Citation 1, for example).
The drug delivery device 100 has cassettes 102 containing a drug 104, a shelf 103 for holding the cassettes, and a device 105 for delivering the drug. The shelf 103 is divided laterally and longitudinally into numerous compartments, forming a plurality of cells 123. Each of the cells 123 holds a cassette 102 filled with the drug 104. A single cassette 102 is filled with several dozen (for example) units of the same type of drug 104.
The device 105 has an extractor 106 for extracting a drug from the cassette 102. The extractor 106 is controlled by a specific control device, and moves in the directions of the arrows 12A and 13A in the drawing. The extractor 106 is positioned on a rear face 3B of the holding shelf with respect to the cassette 102 containing the desired drug 104. The extractor 106 has a unit similar to a known robot arm (not shown). The robot arm takes the drug 104 out of the cassette 102 and delivers it to a delivery tray 141.
The delivery tray 141 is divided into a plurality of regions by partition plates 142. The drug that is to be delivered is delivered to each region according to drug administration zones. The delivery tray 141 by which the drug 104 is delivered is transported to the drug administration site, such as a hospital ward.
As discussed above, with a conventional drug delivery device, ampoules or the like of drug are stored in trays (conveyance receptacles) for each patient and transported to each patient. The trays must display information that identifies the patients. This is so that the stored drug or the like will be handed to the correct patient, or used on the correct patient.
One display means for identifying the trays (conveyance receptacles) is a display label.
The display label is a label having a label paper or a self-adhesive label with patient identification information or the like printed on. The display label is attached by hand to one side of a tray, and is removed by hand when the tray is no longer needed. However, the attachment and removal of the display labels and so forth can entail a great deal of work, and for this and other reasons, the use of rewritable cards that can be written to repeatedly is known (see Patent Citation 2, for example).
FIG. 14 shows a conventional drug delivery device 200 with which cards (display members) are automatically and removably attached to trays.
The drug delivery device 200 has a card attachment and removal conveyance means 210 and a writing means 220. The card attachment and removal conveyance means 210 conveys a rewritable card 201, which is attached to or removed from a tray T, between the tray T and the writing means 220. The writing means 220 writes patient information on the rewritable card 201. The writing means 220 is connected to the card attachment and removal conveyance means 210.
With the drug delivery device 200 above, when a tray T that has been transported in comes to a stop, the rewritable card 201 attached to that tray is removed by the card attachment and removal conveyance means 210. The removed rewritable card 201 is sent between plastic rollers and rubber rollers 212 of the card attachment and removal conveyance means 210, and conveyed to the writing means 220. The conveyed rewritable card 201 is printed by the writing means 220, sent back along the rubber rollers 212 and the plastic rollers, and attached to the tray T by the card attachment and removal conveyance means 210.